Newark, OH-based WSFJ, an independent television station serving the Columbus market, has begun using a uniquely configured, new analog antenna from Dielectric Communications.

Dielectric’s installation, which included a new tower, transmission line and antenna, used an innovative solution for providing vertical polarization that resulted in significant cost savings for the station.

WSFJ’s previous antenna tower was located 40mi away from Columbus, the nation’s 32nd-largest DMA. By installing the new 310ft tower in a more central location on a ridge between Newark and Columbus, the station achieved an increase of about 36 percent in overall coverage and can now be received over the air throughout the entire market.

The tower was erected by Dielectric’s tower operation and is characterized by a T-bar at its peak, with one side holding the new TFU-21JTT-R analog antenna and the other side available for a new digital antenna that the station plans to purchase and install this year.

One of the unique features of the project was that WSFJ wanted to direct about 25 percent of the antenna’s power to vertical polarity. The solution was a combination slot and panel antenna, with the vertical polarization generated by rotating the panel 90 degrees onto its side, resulting in more than $100,000 cost savings over other vertical polarization schemes.